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Topic: Attention HAMMER K3 WINNER owners!! (Read 26897 times)

I am contemplating the purchase of a table saw. If it was going to be the old style cabinet saw I would most likely choose a Sawstop due to the quality of build and of course the safety feature. BUT!!! I really like the idea of a sliding table saw due to what I perceive as an inherently more accurate method of handling the workpiece not to mention the idea of NOT being in line with the saw blade in case of a kickback!! I already have a HAMMER A3 31 combo unit and it is a great machine. So K3 owners please let me know what you think about this saw!! How is the build quality? Is it as accurate as a regular cabinet saw or more so? Does the mobility kit work well? As this is a major investment for me I would be grateful to current owners for their input which could aid me in making a wise choice. Thanks in advance!!

There Are Those That Can Do, There Are Those That Can Not Do, Those That Can Not Do Have Those That Can Do Do The Things That They Can Not Do So That They Feel That They Have Done Something.

There ain't no something for nothing machine.

Festool USA does not pre-approve the contents of this website nor endorse the application or use of any Festool product in any way other than in the manner described in the Festool Instruction Manual. To reduce the risk of serious injury and/or damage to your Festool product, always read, understand and follow all warnings and instructions in your Festool product's Instruction Manual. Although Festool strives for accuracy in the website material, the website may contain inaccuracies. Festool makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of the material on this website or about the results to be obtained from using the website. Festool and its affiliates cannot be responsible for improper postings or your reliance on the website's material. Your use of any material contained on this website is entirely at your own risk. The content contained on this site is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

I have a B3 Winner (K3 plus a shaper) and it is clearly the most accurate saw (compared to Unisaw and Powermatic) I have ever used. Does require a small change in the way you think about cuts but I have no regrets whatsoever. Although pricey I also bought pneumatic clamps for work holding which increases the safety factor even more.Ed

I Have a Felder KF500, which is practically the same thing, but it has a spindle moulder unit too. The saw works to great satisfaction. I use it on three phase but don't know how that is in the US. It is powerful and the fence easy to align when necessary and my saw has micro adjustment to the fence which is a very nice feature. Make sure you have a good dust extraction setup though.

I've been torn between the B3 Winner and Comfort for a while. (I like the idea of having the spindle moulder there as an option if I need it, but wouldn't often use it).

A guy was demonstrating the K3 Winner to me at a recent show and was doing crazy things to the sliding table ... the build quality and strength is amazing. It's amazingly smooth and seems like it would be amazingly accurate, but I didn't get the time to test accuracy.

To me a sliding table format just makes sense ... if you're going to chew up floor space, why just get a box with a blade in it? Obviously the traditional cabinet saw is cheaper (and cheaper to make).

I remember my father (a fitter, turner, machinist, mechanic, etc) made his own table saw in the 60's - it was actually pretty amazing. I think of it whenever I look at a typical cabinet saw today.

Hi Tom,I have a K3 Winner and it is fantastic. The build quality is amazing, as is the accuracy. I also debated whether to get a Sawstop (and it has been widely debated in other posts). The sliding table was the deciding factor for me and it makes a huge difference and I think it does make it a lot safer. It certainly makes handling larger cuts easier. Ironically I have fractured my finger on the sliding table!

The mobility kit does work well, it is a big machine though so you will need space to move it around in. The cross cut fence extension is worth getting if you plan on cutting long pieces.

The only down side for me was the instructions which are appalling for such a large expensive saw. There are a couple of excellent videos on YouTube that go through setting up the saw that I wish I had found before I set mine up. There is also a very detailed set up manual that did not come with my saw but I got from a member of this forum so if you get the saw let me know and I can pass it on.

The saw was very expensive for me as I live in New Zealand but I have not regretted it at all. It has made my woodworking so much more enjoyable.

I also started with the hammer A3-31 and had no hesitation getting the largest K3 winner. The build quality is just as good and very accurate once dialed in. I just took delivery in December so I am still getting used to it. I also got most of the available options. The mobility kit works very well. I was sort of worried it would take up way too much space but I was able to arrange the shop so it is very functional and the mobility kit helps in case I need to move it.

Great to hear the positive reviews. I am planning to purchase one from Hammer at some point this year. Question, their website shows shows list pricing if you create an account...where you guys able to negotiate on the price?

I have had my K3 winner for 3 years now and I would agree with all the comments made so far. It is not as robust as the Felder brands but neither is the price! I have the 78" slider on mine.

It is plenty enough for a hobby woodworker and much better than my previous cabinet saw. It does take some adjusting to the style of cutting but once you get comfortable with that you will be very happy with it. I highly recommend it.

I was ripping a very heavy piece of wood using my hand to hold the wood on the sliding table. I had my fingers curled under the end of the sliding table to clamp the wood down. I failed to remove my hand in time as the sliding table passed the saw and my finger got jammed into a small slot between the sliding table and the saw chassis. Acted like a big blunt chisel, didn't break the skin but caused a spectacular small fracture. In my defence my previous sliding saw was very different and I could do the same thing without injury.

Operation to fix it failed so I have a wonky finger and 2 metal screws....

Tried to contact hammer about it without any success. It would be very easy to fix as it just requires a slight modification to the end plate on the chassis under the sliding table. I have glued a piece of plastic over the gap to prevent a reoccurrence.

I have had the K3 Winner for the last four years, and have built all types of projects, from furniture to cabinets. I used to do woodworking for a living and wanted as shop with industrial tools. In my opinion, you can not beat this saw for the price point and the service is great. I am so sold on the Hammer/ Felder tools, I just bought a F610 bandsaw to replace a 18" Jet. No comparison between quality and performance.

It will take you a little bit to get use to working with the saw compared to a cabinet saw, but the way you work it is very safe. Once you get use to the saw, you will be amazed with the number of task you use the saw for, and how accurate your cuts are.

...I had my fingers curled under the end of the sliding table to clamp the wood down. I failed to remove my hand in time as the sliding table passed the saw and my finger got jammed into a small slot between the sliding table and the saw chassis. ...

That was indeed a terrible habit you had there, do you mean it got jammed on the blade side of the slider, or on the exterior side?I suppose you were ripping a straight edge on a rough board, they have accessories for that. Even though i just press down on the wood with my hands, but always grab the slider on the left side.

I don't have a K3, but i have the F3 shaper and N4400 band saw, i always had the impression that hammer was the hobby range of felder. But when you see the quality of the Hammers you realize that it is perfectly suitable for small businesses. It is almost ridiculous for non professionals to have tools of that quality in their garage, but i suppose it is the same with festool. Some just want tools that are well designed.

Tim, I traveled to the Hammer/Felder office in Delaware before I made the final decision on the K3 Winner. When I saw the Felder units next to the Hammer units, I was impressed with the step up in quality from the Hammer to the Felder. I can see why there is a marked step up in the pricing.

But the Hammer K3 was impressive and I ordered it on the spot. If we did more shop work I wouldn't hesitate to pay the upgrade to the Felder. It's really nice equipment.

I'm a big advocate for sliding table saws. They are safe and far more accurate then one can imagine. My saw is a Felder 700 series and at the time I could only afford a new K3 Hammer so a waited for a used saw and got the 700 series in like new condition for less then the K3. My opinion would be to buy used but I know not everyone likes doing that.

Another option I would consider depending on your work size and shop space is the Mafell Erika. It has a Sliding Table(accessory) and pull-push function. It won't be any cheaper then a K3 but you will get something more compact and easy to move around.

Tim, I traveled to the Hammer/Felder office in Delaware before I made the final decision on the K3 Winner. When I saw the Felder units next to the Hammer units, I was impressed with the step up in quality from the Hammer to the Felder. I can see why there is a marked step up in the pricing.

But the Hammer K3 was impressive and I ordered it on the spot. If we did more shop work I wouldn't hesitate to pay the upgrade to the Felder. It's really nice equipment.

That is also why i ordered a Felder slider and jointer planer of the brand new 700 series last year, will be getting them next week! I wanted the 700 series but the vendor tried to talk me into the 900, or format4. Or else the Hammer. Saying the felder 500 and 700 are Hammers with more options.But i could see some more or less subtle differences in the quality and solidity of key components which were often identical to those of the series above. And then i like the black looks of the new 700's, i find the blue 900's ugly and they may likely soon be updated... i think i will be painting my hammer's red parts in a similar black to avoid them swearing at each other!

...I had my fingers curled under the end of the sliding table to clamp the wood down. I failed to remove my hand in time as the sliding table passed the saw and my finger got jammed into a small slot between the sliding table and the saw chassis. ...

That was indeed a terrible habit you had there, do you mean it got jammed on the blade side of the slider, or on the exterior side?I suppose you were ripping a straight edge on a rough board, they have accessories for that. Even though i just press down on the wood with my hands, but always grab the slider on the left side.

Hi Tim,

I was indeed ripping a straight edge, I had some of the accessories but not all, I have them all now!

I am travelling so I can not take any photos. My hand was in the middle of the end of the sliding table - the board came right up to the end of the sliding table. The sliding table runs in a mechanism next to the table which has a plate on the end under the sliding table, presumably to stop accidents like mine. Unfortunately it has an unnecessary slot in the top that means there is a small gap between the sliding table and the mechanism in one place which is what I rammed my finger into. So I jammed it in the middle, not the blade or exterior side....Not sure if this is any clearer?

I too would like a new table saw to go with my Festool track saw.Looked at the sawstop for $3100 after taxes. Then I saw the Hammer K3on sale.......31x31. $3699. 48x48. $4699On the fence for which one to purchase......Rip sheet goods with the Festool, but mainly want it for ripping rough sawn lumber and cross cutting.Any inputs would be appreciated.

Just ensure you have a large enough shop for a slider. My shop is 24' x 20' and its just large enough (most of the time). I have a Tecnomax 5-in-1 combo with 8.5' slider and with the other equipment and benches it gets tight at times. If you have enough shop size the sliders are very much worth the expense.

Cabinet saw technology is old school and limited in its scope of uses. After you buy the Sawstop slider accessory you are very code to the cost of a REAL European slider! Also consider the costly but exceptional extras that can be added to the Hammer/Felder units. Only reason I have not pulled the trigger on a slider is I have yet to find a large enough shoe horn to fit it into my garage!

Why oh why did you have to start this thread? I wasted(?) a few hours of my day today reading through reviews of the HAMMER K3 WINNER on different wood forums, checking out the product videos, and wiping drool off of my iPad!!!! Go ahead and buy the darn thing, quietly, no gloating!

Just when I think I have the shop outfitted with the tools I want/need, someone has to come along and introduce something different to consider.....

I have had a K3 winner for about 3 years. It's everything I hoped for it to be. I make a lot of cutting boards and the slider safely keeps my fingers away from the blade. I had them modify it to turn a 48x48 into a 48x31. Get as long a slider as you can afford and fit into your shop. It hasn't happened very often but there has been a few times I wished I had a 78" slider. It's the bee's knee's....

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Howard HThe Dallas Texas Festool Fanatic!

Mark Twain: "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a letter approving of it." "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."

I have had a K3 winner for about 3 years. It's everything I hoped for it to be. I make a lot of cutting boards and the slider safely keeps my fingers away from the blade. I had them modify it to turn a 48x48 into a 48x31. Get as long a slider as you can afford and fit into your shop. It hasn't happened very often but there has been a few times I wished I had a 78" slider. It's the bee's knee's....

+1 I have the K3 winner 78/31 and it is an amazing machine. The slider can be used in many ways and can support different jobs so easily. Best it can be used to straight line really fast rather than the jointer/planet.

How long did it take to receive the custom built 78x31? That's exactly what I'm looking for! I have an Elcon vertical panel saw and have little to no need to rip up to 48"....but a small shop....so that extra space to save us precious. Also...did it cost more for them to do that? Or a little less? I'm imagining it should be pretty simple for them...as the K3 31x31 seems to be the base unit that longer sliders and wider rip fences are added to on the successively larger models. Thanks in advance.

Just had my k3 winner (2nd hand) delivered last week and got it up and running this week it's a very nice saw great build quality and very accurate. Mine had the 1200mm slider and 800mm rip capacity and I have it in a single car garage and have been using it without any problems space wise, if I need to rip anything longer or wider than my garage I can wheel it out onto the drive but that would be often as I have the Festool track saws for breaking down sheet goods etc. I find the Hammer rolling carriages good quality but very limited and you need a lot of room to manuvere the machines might be ok if you don't need to move your machines to often, I had some custom bases made from steel angle iron with swivelling locking castors which are much better especially if you work in a small shop as I do.

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Lots of the green stuff )

Festool USA does not pre-approve the contents of this website nor endorse the application or use of any Festool product in any way other than in the manner described in the Festool Instruction Manual. To reduce the risk of serious injury and/or damage to your Festool product, always read, understand and follow all warnings and instructions in your Festool product's Instruction Manual. Although Festool strives for accuracy in the website material, the website may contain inaccuracies. Festool makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of the material on this website or about the results to be obtained from using the website. Festool and its affiliates cannot be responsible for improper postings or your reliance on the website's material. Your use of any material contained on this website is entirely at your own risk. The content contained on this site is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

I'm a happy owner Felder saw five months. The only thing that bothers me is that I can not play with it every day. I was with them directly in production. Amazing people, perfectly work. And the result is seen.

I took delivery of my saw last month. Had to wait for an electrician to come by and install 220v. That was completed last Monday. I have the saw completely assembled and when I plugged the new saw into the electrical 220v outlet - NOTHING! Motor did not start, no hum, nothing. I made sure the accessory cover switch was up and moved it down and then up. Nothing. I went back to the 220v receptacle with a Volt meter and verified the voltage (247 volts). Any Ideas??? Its a pretty expensive boat anchor right now and I cant call the Felder dealer until Monday.

Just an idea but check they the cover that slides out to allowBlade changes is in position and the latch is fully in position as this is a safety switch which cuts the power when open, may have already tried this but that's all I can think of at the min.

I've been drolling for one of these since I discovered them a few month back. Can't find a dealer in Atlanta though.

There are no "dealers" for Hammer/Felder. You can order online. There are 3-4 showrooms scattered about the US, two in California, one in Delaware and one in Dallas that I know of. They can hook you up with a local owner if you need to see it in person first.

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Howard HThe Dallas Texas Festool Fanatic!

Mark Twain: "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a letter approving of it." "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."

Do the 79" if you can. While you're at it and you find you wont needthe 48" rip, request they change it to the 31". I first got a nice cheaper dealon 8 month old 31x31 and well.... wooo it slid a little. Not much hoo hah.So I called them back up, returned that one but kept the 31" rail bar etc.I needed that setup to fit in a 9' space. A few here have put the Wixeytablesaw dro on it. It works ok. Proscale.com seem to have better stuff.

Also, the eShop website is a disaster for information, details & descriptionson alot of products. Request the hardcover catalog.

Do the 79" if you can. While you're at it and you find you wont needthe 48" rip, request they change it to the 31". I first got a nice cheaper dealon 8 month old 31x31 and well.... wooo it slid a little. Not much hoo hah.So I called them back up, returned that one but kept the 31" rail bar etc.I needed that setup to fit in a 9' space. A few here have put the Wixeytablesaw dro on it. It works ok. Proscale.com seem to have better stuff.

Also, the eShop website is a disaster for information, details & descriptionson alot of products. Request the hardcover catalog.

They put me in touch with another customer who is upgrading from a Hammer K3 to a larger Felder. So, we're in the process of working out logistics on how to get his saw to my house. It is a "fully loaded" 2016 K3. Only thing it doesn't have is the Felder dado stack, but does come with the dado insert.

And I have to say that I'm super-impressed with Felder's desire to help two customers out. I guess they know that one hook is good enough to get you for a few things down the line. Certainly the case with the guy I'm trying to buy this saw from.

I know the saw your are purchasing. I checked it out on their site a few weeks ago, but ultimately decided on a Felder. I believe they gets a cut to broker the transaction, but it's a steal considering it's brand new. They figure in a few years you will look to do the same and upgrade to a Felder. The Hammer dado blade is expensive, but it's actually a modified shaper tool, which gives a better cut.

The mobilty lift bar is a hassle, it works though. You may find thatto be a waste of $$. I made the bottle jack lift setup like Tom Gadwahere did for his A3 J/P. I put one on my A3 & N4400 also. Found no needfor one to be the K3 being it isnt moved much if at all.

Thanks for the suggestions from @TomGadwa1 - that is incredibly useful! Hopefully the K3 only needs a few nudges for the first few days/weeks until I find the perfect spot for it. But milling machines definitely get moved a lot in my garage. Would replace my Powermatic/Dewalt milling machines with an A3 some day.

Yeah, I am definitely going to save a few coins with the Dado King over Felder's shaper tool.

Thanks for the help everyone. We're getting closer and closer to making this deal happen on the used one egmiii must know. Worst case, is I order a new one on Friday.

I'm about to give up on the Hammer. I contacted them on 2 Mar and have yet to hear back from them. I also emailed one of their reps on the same day and still nothing. I would hate to need some real customer service help if this is how they respond to their customers.

I am sitting on the fence about whether to purchase the SawStop or the 48x48 Hammer, but if I Hammer/Felder does not care about prospective customer's then I'll spend my money elsewhere.

Is this the norm for this company??

Sorry for the rant, but I'm a serious buyer and this really ticks me off.

Phillip

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'If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there' Lewis Carroll

No need to apologize for the rant. That would tick me off too. Nothing worse than trying to give good money for a good product and receive nothing but bad service.

In my few months of dealing with Felder USA I have experienced just the opposite. They're almost too communicative. If I go to the website, and log-in, I get an email and a phone call. My rep is new though. They have their sales people assigned to territories, so it is really just the luck of the draw as to how motivated your assigned person is. All I can say, is call back and let them know you've been forced to seek public advice here. Hopefully that lights a spark.

Anyone who has the K3 knows the Stop blocks on the crosscut fenceand how rickety it is. I just ordered a spring that goes under theblack knob and what a world of a difference.Just cut it about 3/4" length.

I made my second F&F jig today. The first one was just some scrap plywood and worked really well. But I wanted something a little fancier...

The Incra clamps work extremely well. With a little adaptor piece they'll also fit in the t-slot of the sliding table. The handle is a replacement one for a kid's playhouse and I used some non-slip tape that is typically for stairs to help stop stock from sliding between the jig pieces.

No need to apologize for the rant. That would tick me off too. Nothing worse than trying to give good money for a good product and receive nothing but bad service.

In my few months of dealing with Felder USA I have experienced just the opposite. They're almost too communicative. If I go to the website, and log-in, I get an email and a phone call. My rep is new though. They have their sales people assigned to territories, so it is really just the luck of the draw as to how motivated your assigned person is. All I can say, is call back and let them know you've been forced to seek public advice here. Hopefully that lights a spark.

Thanks for your post. Things have only gotten worse since my last post.

I contacted David Brooks, who is mentioned (with high regard) in this thread, and he contacted me this past Monday, March 3. He was very helpful and together with Jesse Maynerich (Felder Senior Sales Representative) provided several videos and were in the process of answering several questions that I had. During all of this I wanted to know what s/h costs were for the K3. When Mr. Brooks learned that I lived in New Mexico he said he could no longer assist me because I lived in the CA sales area. He said he would send the CA sales rep all of my questions and the CA rep would take it from there. Fine.

Shortly thereafter, I received a 'form' letter followed up by a telephone call from the CA rep. I apologized for needing all of the info and the new rep (I won't mention his name at this time because I have an email going to Felder Sales in Austria) and he said he understood perfectly. To be clear, this phone call was on Monday, March 3.

As of yesterday I had not heard back from the CA sales rep so I sent a message to the Dallas Felder office and wouldn't you just know it? I suddenly received a response from the CA rep whose letter began with - "Thank you for your time on the phone today." Today? I was beside myself. This was followed by " ... and let me know if you have any questions." Adding insult to injury he attached a contract for me to sign.

To put it mildly - I'm one million light years beyond livid. I am also seriously considering the Hammer N4400 bandsaw in addition to the K3 and it really makes me mad that I am dealing with an inept sales rep.

Going off topic slightly - the s/h cost of the K3, as noted in the contract, was $700. SawStop advertises s/h to anywhere in the USA as $250. As best I can tell the shipping weight of both machines is about the same, so I do not understand the excessive K3 s/h cost.

At this point in time I am not sure what I am going to do. My wife keeps telling me I need to chill out over the weekend and go from there. I have friends who live in El Paso and are willing to have Dallas ship these power tools there, but I have no idea if that s/h cost would be any less. $700 seems excessively high to me. El Paso is about a 30 minute drive from where I live so this makes sense to me.

Thanks for hearing me out. All comments or suggestions are most welcome.

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'If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there' Lewis Carroll

No need to apologize for the rant. That would tick me off too. Nothing worse than trying to give good money for a good product and receive nothing but bad service.

In my few months of dealing with Felder USA I have experienced just the opposite. They're almost too communicative. If I go to the website, and log-in, I get an email and a phone call. My rep is new though. They have their sales people assigned to territories, so it is really just the luck of the draw as to how motivated your assigned person is. All I can say, is call back and let them know you've been forced to seek public advice here. Hopefully that lights a spark.

Thanks for your post. Things have only gotten worse since my last post.

I contacted David Brooks, who is mentioned (with high regard) in this thread, and he contacted me this past Monday, March 3. He was very helpful and together with Jesse Maynerich (Felder Senior Sales Representative) provided several videos and were in the process of answering several questions that I had. During all of this I wanted to know what s/h costs were for the K3. When Mr. Brooks learned that I lived in New Mexico he said he could no longer assist me because I lived in the CA sales area. He said he would send the CA sales rep all of my questions and the CA rep would take it from there. Fine.

Shortly thereafter, I received a 'form' letter followed up by a telephone call from the CA rep. I apologized for needing all of the info and the new rep (I won't mention his name at this time because I have an email going to Felder Sales in Austria) and he said he understood perfectly. To be clear, this phone call was on Monday, March 3.

As of yesterday I had not heard back from the CA sales rep so I sent a message to the Dallas Felder office and wouldn't you just know it? I suddenly received a response from the CA rep whose letter began with - "Thank you for your time on the phone today." Today? I was beside myself. This was followed by " ... and let me know if you have any questions." Adding insult to injury he attached a contract for me to sign.

To put it mildly - I'm one million light years beyond livid. I am also seriously considering the Hammer N4400 bandsaw in addition to the K3 and it really makes me mad that I am dealing with an inept sales rep.

Going off topic slightly - the s/h cost of the K3, as noted in the contract, was $700. SawStop advertises s/h to anywhere in the USA as $250. As best I can tell the shipping weight of both machines is about the same, so I do not understand the excessive K3 s/h cost.

At this point in time I am not sure what I am going to do. My wife keeps telling me I need to chill out over the weekend and go from there. I have friends who live in El Paso and are willing to have Dallas ship these power tools there, but I have no idea if that s/h cost would be any less. $700 seems excessively high to me. El Paso is about a 30 minute drive from where I live so this makes sense to me.

Thanks for hearing me out. All comments or suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks for the update. I have been keeping an eye on this as I have been thinking about a Felder (or hammer) slider, the bandsaw and J/P at some point. I didn't pull the trigger on the anniversary sales last year due to a new house purchase, but wish I did.

I have had the level of attention that others have posted where they overly call, email, etc. One time they talked to my wife even! She called out "Honey, are you still interested in the slider? It is on sale for just under 12k for everything!"

I really hope they sort it out for you as I really have my heart set on things.

Cheers. Bryan.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?

That is strange. I had great follow up from sales throughout the anniversary sale days. I considered the Hammer C3 combo special and a Felder bandsaw which could have combined shipping costs, but it was still pricey. I deal with freight fairly often and couldn't really understand what they were doing to be so costly.

I ended up with a very nice used Minimax CU300 Smart combo machine with 8.5' slider close to me in Ohio I just couldn't pass up. Unfortunately I may be forced to sell it now due to a move to smaller space Both Minimax and Hammer/Felder sliders are great machines so hang in there.

Questions from a n00b: could I do all of the work of a track saw, miter saw, and table saw on this? Would I be able to dimension lumber to rough and final sizes? Is this good for small'ish pieces?

I'm debating not getting a miter saw (sorry kapex 120, but if the price is right on the felder, the felder wins) and, instead, replacing all the things a miter saw gives me with a Hammer K3. Would the sliding format (with an outrigger) be good enough for straight line rips?

Questions from a n00b: could I do all of the work of a track saw, miter saw, and table saw on this? Would I be able to dimension lumber to rough and final sizes? Is this good for small'ish pieces?

I'm debating not getting a miter saw (sorry kapex 120, but if the price is right on the felder, the felder wins) and, instead, replacing all the things a miter saw gives me with a Hammer K3. Would the sliding format (with an outrigger) be good enough for straight line rips?

Thanks!

I'll state the obvious, you can't beat a TS55/Kapex in the portability department. Bringing the saw to the work piece can be a huge advantage. Who wants to drag a 20 foot piece of crown all over the jobsite getting the perfect fit! But, to answer your questions, I'll assume you are a hobbyist and will be producing pieces in a shop environment.

The short answer is yes. I'd say anything under 10-12 feet can be done on a Felder just fine. Crosscutting larger pieces might get awkward. You obviously will need a planer to surface rough lumber, but straight line ripping a live edge and making it parallel is easy. A Fritz and Franz jig will allow you to work with very small pieces. "Extreme Woodworker" Steve Rowe has a great youtube video on the jig.

could I do all of the work of a track saw, miter saw, and table saw on this? Would I be able to dimension lumber to rough and final sizes? Is this good for small'ish pieces?

I'm debating not getting a miter saw (sorry kapex 120, but if the price is right on the felder, the felder wins) and, instead, replacing all the things a miter saw gives me with a Hammer K3. Would the sliding format (with an outrigger) be good enough for straight line rips?

A sliding table saw such as the Felder models, can do everything a miter saw and track saw can do. The slider can be up to 10 feet long. You can then use the slider to straight line rip an edge on a board. And the sliding table allows you to cross cut anything. But with the slider you push the wood through the saw instead of pulling/pushing the blade through the wood. The slider has a crosscut table that can be adjusted to any angle and hold any size wood. And the blade can be angled to any angle so you can get any compound miter you want. As for dimensioning lumber, you can cut it to final size. But planing and jointing are not quite the same. For smaller pieces, the big slider may not be quite as convenient as a light, easily maneuverable sliding table. For dimensioning plywood, some prefer to leave the plywood on the ground and move the track saw over the wood. With the slider, you do have to lift the wood onto the slider. But the slider has a scoring blade so it can cut cleaner cuts. You can also stack 4-5 layers of plywood on the slider and cut all at the same time. Quicker than cutting 2-3 at once on the track saw.

Questions from a n00b: could I do all of the work of a track saw, miter saw, and table saw on this? Would I be able to dimension lumber to rough and final sizes? Is this good for small'ish pieces?

I'm debating not getting a miter saw (sorry kapex 120, but if the price is right on the felder, the felder wins) and, instead, replacing all the things a miter saw gives me with a Hammer K3. Would the sliding format (with an outrigger) be good enough for straight line rips?

Thanks!

I'll state the obvious, you can't beat a TS55/Kapex in the portability department. Bringing the saw to the work piece can be a huge advantage. Who wants to drag a 20 foot piece of crown all over the jobsite getting the perfect fit! But, to answer your questions, I'll assume you are a hobbyist and will be producing pieces in a shop environment.

The short answer is yes. I'd say anything under 10-12 feet can be done on a Felder just fine. Crosscutting larger pieces might get awkward. You obviously will need a planer to surface rough lumber, but straight line ripping a live edge and making it parallel is easy. A Fritz and Franz jig will allow you to work with very small pieces. "Extreme Woodworker" Steve Rowe has a great youtube video on the jig.

If you have the space, go for it!

Thanks for the compliments, that is me. For shop use, I seldom use the track saw and Kapex in the shop as the slider is much more accurate. Of course you cannot drag your slider to a worksite so that is why I keep the portable tools. With Fritz and Franz jig, I can cut blocks as small as 1/2" cubed and can rip thin strips (I have gone as narrow as 1mm).